


Tunnel of Love

by Aubrie1234



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Amusement Parks, Fluff, Italian-American Steve Harrington, M/M, Mentions of WWII, Valentine's Day, mentions of period-typical homophobia, tunnel of love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29643768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aubrie1234/pseuds/Aubrie1234
Summary: Steve knows his childhood's fleeting, especially when one special place is about to go away forever. He asks Billy to come with him, and so they spend Valentine's Day with each other, in the one place Steve considers home.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26





	Tunnel of Love

**Author's Note:**

> While this isn't for the Harringrove Week of Love, it's an idea I've had for a while and I thought it would be nice to post in February.
> 
> A few things to note: Tunnels of Love, one of the types of Old Mill Rides, began to die out in the late 80s or so, which was the entire idea that started this story. It fits in perfectly with the narrative of Steve and Billy.
> 
> Ferrywood Park doesn't exist, as far as I know. It's a place I made up for the story.
> 
> And somehow this got around to Steve talking about his grandparents, which is weird, but somehow it works???
> 
> Sorry it's short, I just hope you guys like it!

Billy watched Steve from over the top of his book. Steve was in the kitchen, fixing lunch, but that wasn’t what had Billy’s attention. For the past week or so, his boyfriend had been acting a little strange. A week ago something had changed and now Steve seemed to flit about with nervousness all the time. Billy knew Steve would talk to him when he was ready, but this was getting ridiculous. He’d already had to douse fires twice this week and usually Steve was an amazing cook. But when he was nervous, he became a culinary disaster. Billy glanced to the stove, then back to Steve. At least the brunette was fixing sandwiches, which didn’t require the stove at _all_. He glanced back down to his book when Steve happened to look up.

“Hey, Bi- OW!” Billy looked up. Steve had cut his thumb cutting slices of cheese off the block he’d gotten a few days ago. Billy sighed and headed to the nearest bathroom to grab some bandages. At least it hadn’t been deep.

“Yeah?” the blond asked, coming back to doctor Steve’s cut. The elder was sucking on his thumb, almost childishly, but held it out when Billy approached.

“So, uh, I’ve been wanting to ask you something.”

“I could tell.” Steve flushed.

“It’s important, but I had a hard time bringing up the courage to tell you.”

“As long as it’s not you breaking up with me, I’m fine waiting.”

“I’d never!” Billy smiled. He knew Steve meant it. Once the brunette’s thumb was taken care of, Billy placed a kiss on it. Steve turned an even darker shade of red, if that was possible. Billy chuckled.

“You’ve been out of it for the past week now and you think I wouldn’t have noticed? Princess, I was starting to get worried because you wouldn’t tell me anything.” Billy tucked a lock of hair behind Steve’s ear, “You ready to tell me what it is that’s been on your mind?”

“Y-yeah.” Steve turned to finish chopping the cheese, “You’ll think it’s weird, but Valentine’s Day’s around the corner and I wanted to spend it with you, in a special place.”

“This place ain’t special enough?” Billy asked, teasing. It was Steve’s house, they both knew there was nothing special about it. Especially not with the pool in the backyard.

“Or I could go _without_ you.” Steve murmured. Billy’s face fell.

“You’d really leave me on Valentine’s Day, Stevie?”

“No, I mean I could go a different day, but I _really_ wanna go there. Look,” Steve took his hands, “Just trust me, okay? I only wanna show you something I used to love when I was a kid. You don’t have to say yes but it’d mean a lot to me if you came along.” Billy looked down at their hands. They’d been dating for a few years, ever since Starcourt. Steve had saved his life, but it was more than that. Steve had given Billy another chance, a home, _love_. Steve had given him everything and there was too much for Billy to repay. If there was anything Steve wanted to do, Billy would always try to go along, because Steve rarely asked to do things with Billy. It wasn’t out of a sense of shyness, not really, but that most things he used to do he really didn’t do anymore because they left a bitter taste in his mouth. So if he was really proposing this, having taken a _week_ to work up the courage, this place must’ve really meant a lot to Steve. Billy smiled and nodded.

“I’d love to.” Steve smiled back.

“Thanks, Billy.” Steve kissed him, feather-light, and then returned to the sandwiches. He was more relaxed in his stance now, enough for Billy to go back to his book without having to worry about Steve accidentally hurting himself again.

* * *

“Just how far out is this place?” Billy asked, sitting in the passenger seat of Steve’s BMW.

“Not much longer.” Steve said. Billy rolled his eyes. Steve had repeated that answer the last three times Billy had asked. It was a chilly day, allowing Billy to wear a longsleeve shirt and his jacket, covering his scars, while Steve wore a warm, pale green sweater that looked more in place with Easter than Valentine’s Day. The blond looked at the dashboard clock. Three hours had passed since they left Hawkins. Was this place even _in_ Indiana? And what _was_ the place? Steve had refused to give him answers.

“Bambi, I know I said I’d love to come along, with it being Valentine’s Day and all, but you’ve told me jack shit about where we’re going. Can’t I at least get some kind of hint?”

“Nope.” Steve popped the ‘P’ with a smile. He glanced at Billy, “I promise though, it’s not much farther. I mean it this time.” He focused back on the road. Billy turned to look out the window again. Besides the various tapes they’d brought along to play, he’d made a game of counting how many cows they’d passed on their drive. Billy was pretty sure he was somewhere in the 400s. Indiana had a lot of cows, that was for sure. Eventually, in the distance, he could see something on the horizon. Billy squinted.

“Ferrywood…Park?” Billy read, “What the hell?”

“It’s an amusement park.” Steve explained, “Used to come here when I was little, with my Nonna. Those were the best days of my life, second only to when I met you.” They pulled into the small parking lot, which had next to no other cars parked.

“Thanks, but where is everyone?” Billy asked as Steve shut the car off. The brunette sighed. He looked resigned.

“The park’s closing in a few days. This’ll be the last time I get to see this place.”

“Oh.” Billy felt bad about complaining during the ride. He shifted in his seat, “Why’s it closing?”

“Not enough money.” Steve shrugged. He got out of the car and Billy followed. They got tickets and Billy looked around. It didn’t look like any amusement park he was used to. It wasn’t fancy like them, more homely, in a way. Steve took his hand and began dragging him across the park. Billy didn’t argue, curious about where they’d end up.

“D’you know who Nonna is?” Steve spoke. He didn’t wait for an answer, “She was my grandma. She was actually from Italy, and when my parents had to go out of the country, she’d come over and babysit me. I learned so many things from her, like how to make Bottarga, speak Italian, or what to do should I be cornered without a weapon.” Billy gave him a look. Steve shrugged, “She was a tough woman. But sometimes, if I’d been really good, she’d take me out on long drives, just the two of us. We came across this place once and it was great. We came here all the time, we had fun, but then…” Steve’s face dropped, “Nonna died when I was eleven. No one was around to care for me, so I had to make do. I never came back here, even after I learned to drive. It was too painful. But then I met you.” Steve smiled at Billy, “I just _knew_ , one day, I had to take you here, show you the best place in the world. I wanted you to see the closest thing I had to a home.” His face fell again, “Last week, though, I learned that this place was gonna close soon. So I wanted to bring this up as soon as I could, to show you before it closed, but I didn’t know if I was ready. I didn’t want you to miss this, though, so thanks for being patient with me.” Steve stopped, dropping Billy’s hand more out of caution than anything else. Steve was now quiet and Billy wasn’t sure what to say.

“...You said this was your home?”

“Yeah.” The brunette nodded, “It was where I was happy for the first time, a place I actually enjoyed.”

“Then let’s give it a proper send-off.” Billy said. He took Steve’s hand and, seeing that they’d stopped in front of the rollercoaster, pulled Steve along behind him. He’d make this day one Steve wouldn’t forget.

* * *

Billy was right in his feeling that Ferrywood Park was homely. It certainly felt like a home, despite the rollercoasters, the tilt-a-whirl, and the various gaming booths. Even the food smelled like home. Billy glanced over at Steve as the brunette chowed on cotton candy, a large stuffed lion in a military uniform under his arm. _Sgt. Lionheart_ , the tag read, but Steve was just calling it ‘Andy.’

“That was my grandfather’s name, y’know. My father’s father, who fought in World War II.” Steve had explained.

“What was he like?”

“Dunno.” Steve shook his head, “Survived the war but died before I was born. Never got to know him but I’ve heard of what he did. Y’know what’s funny, though?” He looked to Billy, “Nonna was actually part of the Italian Resistance during the war, _la Resistenza_. She was a spy, and pretty good at her job. When I think about that sometimes, knowing I have people who were willing to fight for their freedom, on both sides, it makes me feel like I’m worth something. Like, before, I knew I was a rich loser. But then, after the Upside Down showed itself, I became a warrior, like them. I helped people. So maybe, even with my stupid job, I can still do good things.”

“You shouldn’t have had to fight.” Billy had said.

“Neither should you.” And that made them go into silence, until now. Billy watched Steve eat with a smile. Steve was messy when he ate sometimes, but Billy found it cute. He could watch Steve like this all day.

“Have we gone on everything already?” Billy asked. Steve shook his head as he swallowed his next bite.

“There’s, uh, still one more place.” Steve was blushing. Billy raised an eyebrow.

“Do you not wanna go on it?”

“No! No, I do, but it might not be, well, _appropriate_ for us.” Immediately Billy’s eyes narrowed. They’d managed to go _all day_ without a mention of this, and now it was getting in the way of Steve’s happiness?

“Who cares what people think?” Billy said, “It’s the last ride. It’s Valentine’s Day and I know you wanted to take me here, but I also wanna make this the best memory you have of Ferrywood Park.” He held out his hand, “Take me to the last ride, Pretty Boy.” Steve stared down at the hand. His eyes filled with tears, but his sticky hand grabbed Billy’s nonetheless after switching the cotton candy to his other hand.

“Thank you.” he whispered, “I’m glad you love this place too.” And with that, he took Billy with him, to the very edge of the park. There, almost hidden in shadow of the dying day, was the very last ride. Billy couldn’t really see what it looked like, only that it was big and wooden. Steve was still crying as he said, “This was my favorite ride, even if Nonna was the only one who ever went on it with me.” He took Billy over to the entrance. There was no ticketbooth for the ride, you could just walk in. Inside were dim pink lights hovering over a small river of boats, with only one direction forward: into the darkness.

“Is this a river cave?” Billy asked.

“It’s a tunnel of love.” Steve corrected, “It was in so much better shape when I was here, but I guess, with changing social norms, it’s gotten abandoned.”

“Then why didn’t they shut it down?” Billy looked around.

“It’s always been a free ride.” Steve said. He put down Andy and finished his cotton candy as he said, “The history is that this was the first ride Ferrywood Park ever had, and to celebrate that, they made it free. No tickets, no money. You got in a boat, pressed a button, and it took you around. There really was no involvement from any staff, from what I remember.” He threw the remaining cone in the trash, “So, wanna go down the tunnel?”

“Sure thing, Bambi.” Billy shot him a smile. They climbed into the first available boat. There were safety bars, which they clamped down, and Steve pointed out the safety release if they ever needed to get it off in an emergency. He then pressed a button on the dash and the boat slowly moved forward. Billy reasoned that it was attached to some kind of conveyor that pulled it along, and as they passed through the darkness, there were spots lit by more pink lights, showing the walls. They were wooden, just like the rest of the building, and were painted with hearts. It was sappy but Steve seemed to love it. He was gazing at them with such a nostalgic look on his face.

“Princess?”

“Yeah?” Steve turned to face him. Billy bit his lip. It had been a great day so far and he wanted to end it on a high note. He was pretty sure he was ready to say it, because never before had he felt as comfortable with Steve, nor had he seen Steve as happy as he was now.

“I… I wanted to say I love you.” Billy took his hand, “You’ve done so much for me and I thought I just had to pay you back, for giving me a second chance, a home, everything. But then I got to know you, _really_ know you, and then we became boyfriends. But I want you to know that I love you, Steve, more than anything else in the world.” Billy waited for Steve’s reaction. He knew this could go badly, despite all his hopes. Steve’s eyes shined, but not with tears.

“I love you too. I know how hard it was for you to say that, how hard it was for me to say it too. But I love you, Billy, with all my heart, and I’d give you anything you could ever want in a heartbeat.” He leaned against Billy, “Thank you for making this the best day ever.”

“No trouble, Princess.” Billy kissed his soft hair.

“And you know what?”

“What?”

“I think this isn’t my only home anymore. I feel at home with you, too.” Billy felt touched by the statement. He hugged Steve close.

“You became my home the first time you offered to take me in, before we ever got together.” The blond admitted, “Guess this really _is_ a tunnel of love, huh?”

“Yeah.” Steve nodded.

“Could you do one more thing for me, please?”

“Anything.”

“You said your grandma was Italian, so do you think you could whisper some to me?”

“Oh, I’ll do more than that.” Steve tugged Billy’s face down to be kissed, “ _Ti amo così tanto, non ne hai idea. Mi fa male il cuore solo pensando alla vita che potremmo trascorrere insieme, non voglio passarla con nessuno tranne te_.”

“Damn, Pretty Boy.” Billy sucked in a breath, “You don’t know what that does to me.”

“Tonight, in bed, I’ll do more.” Steve promised. Billy would hold him to it.

“You think your Nonna would be happy to see you come back here, one last time?”

“She’d be more than happy.” Steve said, “She’d love you too, I’m sure. I dunno what she thought of people like you and me, honestly, but not taking that into consideration, I know she would adopt you as one of her own. She was amazing like that.”

“I would’ve loved to meet her, but I know I can do that through you.” Billy kissed him again, “I love you, Steve Harrington.”

“I love you too, Billy Hargrove.” The ride was coming to an end. Billy wished it wouldn’t, but he knew it was late. They had a long journey home and Steve promised more after that. Billy hoped this Valentine’s Day would be the one that stuck with Steve for the rest of his life, because Billy was sure it would stick with him.

**Author's Note:**

> Translation, offered by Google Translate:
> 
> Ti amo così tanto, non ne hai idea. Mi fa male il cuore solo pensando alla vita che potremmo trascorrere insieme, non voglio passarla con nessuno tranne te. = I love you so much, you have no idea. My heart aches just thinking about the life we could spend together, I don't want to spend it with anyone other than you.


End file.
